With continuous innovation plus rising concern over the coronavirus, it comes as no surprise that more people are deciding to work from home. Remote teams do offer unique benefits to their employers and contribute towards overall productivity and success.

One major downside, however, is that online communication is particularly susceptible to misinterpretation.

Web chats and emails tend to miss context clues which guide readers on the structure and meaning of a new word as well as how it can be used. Some companies also fail to maximise technologies like video conferencing or voice calls to promote more regular conversations. Collaboration and mutual trust will start feeling far-fetched and there’ll be much back and forth between senders and recipients.

You might also have a hard time seeing if your remote assistants are overworked or underutilised. Quality and progress can suffer in the midst of this. Eventually, you’ll get not-so-positive comments from customers about your output. If worse comes to worst, your bottom line may take a hit.

If you’re wondering how you can address these issues as someone in a position of authority, you must first identify the common scenarios so you can know how to avoid or resolve them.

Scenario #1: Information getting overlooked

Chat groups and video calls are just two of the many ways clients and virtual assistants stay in touch. Sadly, the sheer volume of channels and tools available can mean missed details. Since instructions and information are sent electronically, it’s necessary to condense the information. There’s a chance that essential data wasn’t included in the message.

Solution: Limit communication channels by using only one platform. There are collaboration tools where you can post tasks and chat at the same time. Instant messaging software can be used for more personal matters.

Scenario #2: Technology not working as it should

Remote teams rely on the internet and other innovations to do their jobs. but there’s hardly anyone who’s never experienced a problem with their WiFi connection or computer at some point. You might hear some static in the background or your laptop may show the blue screen of death.

This happens during the most inopportune times too, like in the middle of a virtual meeting with your employees.

Solution: Prepare for this by investing in hardware solutions. You can pay for a dedicated bandwidth or backup internet service. In case those fail, prepare a contingency plan such as a membership at a nearby co-working space.

Scenario #3: Workers hesitant to collaborate

The lack of communication can make online professionals feel isolated, disengaged, and lonely. This impacts not just their mental and emotional health, but also their working practice. They’ll have second thoughts about asking colleagues for help, or they won’t want to join the light banter that’s common among many workplaces. Deadlines may not be met simply because your VAs aren’t talking with each other.

Solution: Improve the remote experience by creating a virtual community where co-workers can come together to get to know one another and share ideas. You might want to consider a regular video call for the sole purpose of team building. This can be done perhaps once a month, if not every quarter.

Scenario #4: Schedules difficult to arrange

If your team is comprised of members located in different time zones, it’ll be a hassle to determine a common time for holding meetings or conducting training. Someone will have to sacrifice working beyond their office hours or during the middle of the night for their area.

Additionally, tracking team performance through clock-ins and clock-outs will be a challenge especially if you offer flexible arrangements.

Solution: With regards to meeting times, you can rotate the time zones so everyone will get to sacrifice at some point. Inform future team members of this arrangement beforehand so they can prepare themselves.

Monitoring can be addressed by using time tracking software with a screen capturing feature. Provide feedback and ask questions whenever you notice anything odd about the captures to help boost communication.

Scenario #5: Messages appear too informal

Instant messaging has long been available to the mass public for personal use. A few are so used to chatting outside of work that they get tempted to use shorthand text and emojis in a professional setting.

This can be fine among co-workers but not towards those in higher positions. Hackles may also be raised among the management because informal messages can be misconstrued as downright disrespectful.

Solution: Encourage your employees to always use complete sentences with correct spelling and grammar. Emojis are to be avoided in conversation threads with superiors, unless the person in a higher position indicates that they don’t mind. As much as possible, messages must be responded to as soon as humanly possible to minimise frustration levels.

How Remote Workmate Helps

If you’re experiencing communication issues in your remote assistants, we can help. For first-time visitors, our blog contains resources on how to deal with various communication issues (such as this article).

For Remote Workmate partners, our client success managers are always available if you have any concerns.

Remote Workmate specialises in finding skilled and experienced virtual assistants who know how to communicate with their colleagues and superiors. Briefings regarding rotating meeting times may also be arranged but are usually left up to you to ensure no miscommunication occurs.